USA

My stomach tightened as several buckles clicked into place.

The safety check echoed emptily in my ears, a collection of sounds completely failing to register through the fear.

“Ok, over you go.”

I clambered slowly over the thin wire fence, balancing awkwardly on the few inches of metal platform that was the last remaining barrier before a 200 foot drop into the rocky stream below.

Disjointed thoughts flashed through my brain as the countdown begun.

3
“This must look ridiculous.”

A grown man, standing on a metal ledge above a shallow river dressed in nothing but a green cotton school dress and a pair of running shoes. The harness was cinched tightly around my groin, providing additional information that nobody required.

2
“I hope the photos turn out ok.”

Yes, because that’s obviously the most important thing to be concerned about just before you throw yourself off a bridge. The quality of the ensuing photos.

1
“What the hell am I doing?”

Finally a rational thought. Too little, too late.

The hands on my shoulders gave me a gentle push and I launched myself out into the void, a terrified scream being torn from my lips as I plummeted towards the rocks.

The things we do for a good cause, hey?

With an unseasonal hot spell gripping much of the USA, wildfires have sadly raged out of control in several states in recent weeks. We had seen smoke on the horizon while leaving Colorado, and had heard reports of major fires in Montana as well.

Driving towards the Lewis and Clark caverns late one afternoon, the truth of those reports was impossible to ignore. Huge black plumes almost blotted out the sun, the choking smell of wood smoke coming in through every tiny gap in the car.

The power of nature was all around.

After a fun but exhausting few days in Denver for a travel blogging conference, Dustin and I hired a car and headed out of town. From Colorado to Wyoming we crossed, leaving our cares – and cell phone service – behind us in the dust.

The skies were huge and the roads were long as for two days we made our way westwards, beginning an eleven day Road Trip of Awesome that seemed to take in every scenic location on the way to Seattle.

First stop: Grand Teton National Park.

After the beauty of Grand Teton and the bubbling diversity of Yellowstone, I wasn’t sure what to expect from our final national park of this road trip, Glacier. Perched at the northern edge of Montana, the park is famous for the Going-to-the-Sun Road, the awkwardly-named 50 mile route that runs through the centre from east to west.

It’s also famous for snow. Lots and lots of snow. Apparently drifts 80 feet (25m) or more high are not uncommon at the top of Logan Pass, and it takes close to three months to clear the road each year – it had only been open a few weeks by the time we drove through at the end of June.

The mercury fell quickly as we headed towards the park, from around 90 degrees F at the start of the day to barely 60 as we pulled up to our hostel. Storm clouds scudded across the sky, and a strong wind whipped the rain into our faces as we forced the car doors open. Our atmospheric (read: old) hostel creaked and groaned as the weather took hold.

Exploring would have to wait until tomorrow.

With only a couple of hundred miles to go on our road trip, we had hit the Interstate and were fast approaching Seattle when Dustin suddenly pulled over, screeching to a halt in the roadside dust as speeding trucks continued to thunder past.

He had been looking for the perfect photo of wind turbines for the last week or more as we headed west, and finally he’d found it.

Not being one to let the moment go to waste, I fired off a few quick shots as well.